Why did Seneca the elder consider Gaius Asinius Pollio to be a founder of the first public recitations in Rome?

Abstract

Gaius Asinius Pollio (c. 75 BC - 4 AD), Roman commander, politician, orator and writer is also known as the founder of public recitations in Rome. The reason for this was the following phrase from the Controversions by Seneca the Elder: “Pollio was the first of all the Romans to have read his works to the invited public” (Contr. IV. praef. 2). Nowadays it is accepted by scholars that Pollio did not introduce public recitations, however, there is still no consensus on what exactly this innovation was. In this article, the author considers modern interpretations of the fragment from the Controversions and offers her own interpretation, concluding that Pollio initiated the reading of works for a wider audience at a more formalized level.